A NEW commercial gallery has opened, stocked with artworks by “20th century masters” like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali and Henry Moore.

Hidden Gallery has opened on the former site of menswear shop Simon Carter in Kensington Gardens in Brighton’s North Laine area.

Artworks available range in price from prints by contemporary artists like (Bristol-based Spanish graphic artist) Javi Tanke starting at £150, right up to original Banksy works that can sell for over a million pounds.

These are kept off-site for obvious reasons. Even so, owner Chris Kendall and co have introduced several security measures to keep the works safe.

Other featured pieces include signed Picasso lithograph prints, original drawings by Ben Nicholson and Jean Cocteau and quilts and ceramics by Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry.

Gallery Associate Louis Fowler said: “Chris is proud that his collection comes from here, there and everywhere, going back 100 years right up to the present day.”

They said every piece in the gallery is signed in order to verify authenticity.

The Brighton branch is the second Hidden Gallery, the original having opened in Bristol in 2014. Hidden Gallery’s aim is to “offer serious art, in a fun, relaxed environment,” with a “knowledgeable and approachable team.”

“Brighton doesn’t really have somewhere doing what we’re doing,” Mr Fowler said.

“Art Republic has your very contemporary stuff and there are plenty of galleries that support local artists, but there’s nowhere that really does 20th century classics and serious investments.”

Chris said Brighton “feels like a bit of a sister city to Bristol”.

He added: “They’ve both got the same independent spirit and a real love for art.

“When we were in Bristol we would get people from Brighton who were down for the weekend and they would tell us ‘You have to come to Brighton.’”

The gallery has opened but its official launch event will take place on Saturday.

The launch party was originally planned for the last Friday in November but was rescheduled so as not to clash with a Brighton Art Fair event, as Chris “didn’t want to start things off by annoying people.”